How Parental Support Affects Students' Attitudes toward the Science Fair.

McDonough, Susan G.

The problem examined in this study deals with the extent to which parental help in preparing for a science fair and parental support for the project affect students' attitudes toward the science fair. Fifty subjects were randomly selected from a group of 110 6th-grade students. There were 28 girls and 22 boys selected from the central-Virginia city school system. The survey instrument used had seven questions relating to students' attitudes toward the fair, three questions about students' perceptions of their parents attitude toward the fair (parental support), and six questions concerning how much their parents helped them complete their project (parental help). Although parental support and parental help correlated significantly, only the parental support questions related significantly to students' attitudes. The degree to which students liked their projects also related to their attitudes about the fair. The study suggests that the interest students feel for their projects as well as the amount of support parents show for the fair has a connection to students' feelings about their projects. (Author)